The might of Germany is at a display here in the first month of the game. The Reichführer manages to convince the Danes that joining into an alliance with Germany is the way forward in the world. At the same time German troops march peacefully into Austria and claims it as part of Germany. The anschluss works without a hinge.

The Abwehr is also at its finest as it convinces the authoritation regime of Lithuania to join the cause of Germany. An attempt at toppling a southern american regime, fails however, but nobody seems to notice, so it is not spoken of in anything but whispers... who knew the führer had ambitions of south american conquest.

The empire of the rising sun finds itself at war with the chinese. Two quick airstrikes against enemy bases in Hangchow and Tsingtao meet with great success. In both cases 3/4 of the enemy planes where shot down, and little resistance was met. Having seen how well things went, the leadership of the army, decides to launch an all out assault against Hangchow, which is a stalemate. However, with the arrival of new troops from mainland Japan, enough forces can be moved from elsewhere to liberate the City, from its oppressors.

In the northern part of China, south of Beijing, two infantry actions are reported, both with great success for the Japanese. These attacks where made first with air power, then artillery bombardment, and finally infantry assaults. The shattered chinese units had no idea what hit them.

Just like in the previous AAR (anschluss or bust) i will present some units, while waiting for turns. In this case I would like to present the Axis Fighters (non-naval fighters that is) at the start of the game. Consider it a break, or an intermezzo.

Ribbentrop proceeded to tell the good news. "There has been a coup in Persia".

"Oh?" Replied the Führer. He couldn´t recall he had ordered a coup there...

"Yes, the British seem to have initiated a coup, and ... and... Abwehr seized the moment and helped certain nationalist inclined groups to rebel, and take the goverment by counter coup! Mein Führer, we now have Persian Oil at our disposal"

"Good, Good!" Exclaimed the Führer. "Do you have other news?"

"Yes..." Replied von Ribbentrop. "The Italians felt inspired by our coup in Persia, to topple a shortlived british government in Saudi Arabia!"

"This is excellent news!" Exclaimed the Führer.

"I have a bit of bad news too..." began Ribbentrop "Norway has signed a pact with Great Britain and the Swedish Iron ore is now under their control...."

"This is not unexpected" muttered the Führer, still with a gleam in his eyes, that told Ribbentrop that the Führers mind was on the Oil of the middle east...

"... and Rumania has fallen to a Soviet Coup..."

"WHAT?!" Exclaimed the Führer, suddenly in a state of rage. This was not going to be one of those good days, Ribbentrop thought.

And with those words, he turned away from the table and left the Situation Room. His Generals very much nervous, for what those words meant.

[I will leave the description of what this actually means to my opponents]

So what is "plan Schwartz"?

It really deserves this name, as it is the darkest day in Europe! Plan Schartz is a general German attack against Poland, Belgium, France and Britain. Battles are fought in mid and western Europe, at North Sea and in Mid East. So far Italy is not involved and all is quiet in the south of Europe.

The map shows the situation just after the breakout of war in mid Europe. Germany had occupied Denmark and Finland. Austria and Tchecoslovakia had already become a German protectorate. After the DoW against Poland German forces have attacked along the Baltic Sea coast. The most important Polish cities have been taken. SU wants to benefit from this and has attacked Poland too. Only some provinces are left of Poland after the first wave of the enemie´s attacks.

At western front Belgium and Luxembourg have been attacked. Half of Belgium is already overrun. Now Belgium and French forces form a defence line. The Maginot Line has not been attacked.

Britain is involved in the fighting right from the beginning. A transport fleet on its way from Oslo to Trondheim has been attacked by German subs. All vessels and loaded troops, including the newly established HQ for Trondheim, were lost. British navy has send out subs and ships immediately. They discovered several sub groups at North Sea. First attacks by fighters and bombers failed. British navy prepares for severe naval battles.

As Finland has joined the Axis, the British ally Norway is threatened from north and south.

Ireland has joined the Axis, sitting in the backyard of the British islands. A French surface group has already launched an attack on the harbour of Dublin. Several transports have been sunk. North Ireland Air Force attacked Dublin military air port successfully.

After diplomatic attempts had failed to invite Arabia and Persia to the alliance of Britain and France, both nations signed treaties with enemies of Britain. Persia got under control of Germany, while Arabia joined a coalition with Italy.

Concerned by this development British forces of Egypt-Syrian army have already been set on march towards the border of Perisa. At the same time the Indian Colonial Army moved westwards. British subs blocked the way out of the gulf of Persia.

When Britain received the German DoW an immediate attack was ordered. British forces cut off the route between the Persian oil fields in the north and the ports in the south. German gunboats trying to leave the gulf were forced to retreat when running into the British blockade. A small British fleet attack the Persian ports and sank lots of transport vessels while few managed to escape. But they are trapped just like the gunboats.

Meanwhile first air attacks against the German forces at the oil fields have started.

Plan Schwartz was going just as the Führer had envisioned. Krakow and Danzig had fallen easily in Poland, and the Polish Airforce had been destroyed, mostly anyway. This had not been possible had it not been for von Ribbentrop and his secret trips to the Soviet Union. Here, in Moscow, he had bargained a great deal for Germany:

Germany would gain territory in Rumania for territory in Persia. Stalin for reasons of his own wanted this miserable hot country, and the Führer was a practical man. There was no way Germany could defend the interests of Persia, and its oil, from the western colonialists... but Rumania however, was both nearer Germany and had more oil.

The Führer could hardly believe his luck when the Soviets suggested that they partition Poland as well. Speed however was of the essence to the Soviets, and The Führer was not one to let a chance pass by. As fate would have it, another chance presented itself, at the same time. Syncronisity they say is not something to ignore.

Submarines patrolling the coast of Norway were reporting cargoships heading for Norway, with British troops. It would be far easier to sink these ships than fighting the troops they had with them once they landed.

So the order was given: for Plan Schwartz.

The troops on the Belgian border began shelling the city of Brussels, while the Uboats did their dirty work at sea. The reports coming in were very promising. A Panzer Korps was sent towards Antwerp once Brussels had been overrun, and Luxembourg was invaded as well.

Yes, things were looking good. The Generals would learn to have to trust The Führer from now on. His instincts on when to strike were clearly superior to theirs.

The British had begun hunting for subs. They had some luck with it too, and reports were coming in from Persia that the forces there barely were able to hold the British at bay. Never mind thought the Führer, that corner of the world is irrelevant at the moment. At that moment a dispatch arrived saying that the Rumanian oilfields at Ploesti were in the hands of the Bulgarian allies, that had joined the Axis a month ago.

A few days later a dispatch arrived telling that all major cities of Rumania now were under the control of the Axis. Time to keep our part of the bargain with the Soviets thought the Führer. Already there had been a miscue, as Soviet troops had taken Lvov, but the Soviet Commander had offered the city for the Germans. German officers luckily followed their orders to the letter, and refused to take the city.

Poznan was another matter, it was taken by The Czechoslovakian forces who were under Axis command. Good thought the Führer, we need to keep the Czechs happy. Troops from Poznan were fleeing towards Warsaw, but the noose was tightening, and soon Warsaw too would be captured.

In the West things were going well too. The defenders of Antwerp, who had stopped the German attempt to take it last month, had been overpowered, and Antwerp taken. With that the last piece of Belgium now was German. France was next, the Führer knew.

Meanwhile Franco had paid a visit to the Italian Captiol, Roma, and here met with Il Duce. There they had been forging an alliance.

The announcer on Italian and Spanish Radio both underlined the fact that this alliance was for defence of their common interests only, and that in these unsure times fascists had to stay loyal to each other.

With the signature on the treaty of Roma, the Italian fleet, and its many submarines were free to operate outside of the mediterranian too.

The war with China was going well, even the general staff was cautiously optimistic. Then again why wouldn´t they be winning. The country of The Rising Sun had everything it needed to win such a war, apart from the natural resources... resources it was going to need to get from China.

Already, Tsingtao and Hangchow had been taken, and a succesfull naval assault on Hainan captured the Island at the beginning of May. Japanese troops were making good speed on the connecting Shanghai with Beijing. It would only be a matter of time before the Chinese troops in between had to either flee their positions, or risk encirclement.

Also Japanese troops were at the gate of Wuhan, and its precious resources of coal. Soon Japan would rival even the western colonialists.

German sources report the fall of Warsaw and Lille. The mighty German army is grinding its way slowly into France... Poland now consists of only Bialystock and Vilnius. Abwehr expect these to fall to the Soviets soon.

As soviet armies move into Vilnius and Bialystok, they receive a telegram from the allied parliament in London, via the polish anti fascist resistance.

"Mid east is natural area of interest of UK.. STOP. SU Has to accept.. STOP. Move out and your forces will survive.. STOP. END TELEGRAM."

For the past 100 years the UK has attempted to slow soviet expansion into the Steppes, and this is the final straw. We refuse to be treated as a third rate power.

Reconnaissance aircraft snap these pictures, of the 34th guards cavalry corps wrestling Abadan and Bandar Abbas from allied control. Full blown war has erupted with the united kingdom over Persia. Stalin, refusing to lose face in a time where the Third Reich is marching across Europe and any perceived weakness could make you a potential target, has gambled once again.

Tensions are also eased between the axis powers, japan, and the soviet union. Stalin pulls back a portion of the far east army, and reforms and shock army for redeployment to the middle east. Georgi Zhukov is rumored to head up this new corps.

Diplomatic overtures of peace, prosperity, and free trade are made towards germany and italy. Backed up with the big guns of success in poland, and now in the middle east, coupled with the very disciplined and organized corps with their massive tank divisions, now becoming fully staffed and boasting numbers in far excess of the Wehrmachts 6 Panzer divisions, the Stavka and Polit Bureau feel confident in a German Soviet agreement.

Overtures are also made to japan, to see what the Soviets can do about shortening their war with China.

A British rifle division, and artillery battalion meet the guards cavalry corps and are hurled back towards India. An agreement and non aggression - non interloping pact has been reached between Germany and the Soviet union, splitting Europe along current borders, with the soviets sphere being the east and near asia, and europe being the sphere of the germans.

First, appologies for not posting anything last turn. I promise I will try to post every turn.

1938, July, Germany.

The reich was in a strange situation. For some reason the Soviets had first accepted an alliance, and then declared war. (We are looking into this, may be a bug in Vics code, or just trickery from Kraftwerk...)...

So a decision had to be made. It was tough, do we trust these Soviets, or are they going to stab us in the back. In the end we decided to trust them, and sent them yet another suggestion of peace.

Then we had the War! Not to forget.

In the Atlantic, the British are beginning to learn how to lessen their losses. Last turn the Uboats got very opportunistic, and sank several destroyer IIs. Now the British have begun stacking them with Submarines, which Uboats actually have problem sinking...

German units made a fantastic breakthrough at Le Havre, this turn. Smashing through the defences, and hitting some rear area units (including some British Engineers), with a stab deep into Normandy. It looks as though this will be the easy way to Paris! Simply bypassing the Maginot and hitting the rear areas, where there is less defence.

The chinese made several small attacks, that were very annoying. So the Japanese Army decided to learn them a lesson...

In the northern part of the front, two hexes were taken, in both cases with few losses, and alot of enemy losses. In the southern part of the front, a single hex, the Plains south of Wuhan, was retaken, and the enemy there was also taught a lesson or two...

But the real offensive was in the middle of the front. Here Japanese troops routed several groups of infantry and cavalry that the hapless Chinese had tried to put in their way. Like the Poles before them, the Chinese are learning that Cavalry is no good against tanks. The very mobile and agile nature of the attack must have taken the Chinese completely by surprise. The important bridge leading from the Shanghai to Beijing, was attacked from four sides, and taken...

The unholly alliance of totalitarian powers is very close to achieve a total victory in the Eurasian continent. Paris fell last months. Egypt is going to fall soon and Soviet troops are threatening India. It isn´t possible for the USA to keep neutral anymore. President Roosevelt sent an ultimate to the four agressors, demanding a immediate halt to all offensive operations and a retreat to pre war borders, otherwise...... In China, Wuhan fell to Japanese troops. Japanese advance is slow and Chinese counterattacks are inflicting moderate casualties on enemy troops, but China has been suffering more losses than it can replace, the outcome of this war is certain, unless external aid is sent.

Dec-1938 (USA) Alliance signed with UK and France. However, didn´t DOW Italy and Germany. Alliance signed with China, resulting in DOW against Japan Lend Lease tanks and aircraft sent to oue new allies, also some infantry was sent to......(?????) China Few Japanese attacks last time, gave us some time to breath and replace losses.

The game has progressed quite a bit since the last post. Suffice to say that the Axis, which includes the Soviet Union, in what seems an unbreakable alliance, have seized power in most places.

In Europe, the last remaining non-axis country (apart from Britain), Turkey, has become attacked by German and Italian troops. In the middle east the Soviet union has run over the defenses in Iraq, Syria and so on, Only Jerusalem is still a free city. It is bombarded constantly by Italian and Soviet artillery, and Italian air flies sorties at it, at will, as there is no longer any airdefence worth mentioning. Gibraltar is long gone as a british fortress city, but Malta remains, a spec in the water outside the Italian coast, without any supply to come from the Suez, which is now Italian too.

The Soviets are pouring into India, through Persia, which was gratiously handed over to the Soviets by the Germans. Pakistan is now a Soviet Province! In China, joint cooperation by Japanese and Soviet forces, has cut the Chinese in two pockets, that resist as best they can, but it seems inevitable that China will fall. A smaller action has taken place, in the south of China, resulting in Japanese troops pouring into Indochina, capturing half of it, and nearing occupation of it all.

Pearl harbor happened, after the Americans joined the war. It was still a complete surprise, and victory for the Japanese, who sunk the American pacific fleet. At present there is a huge naval battle going on all over the pacific, to determine who will gain the upper hand in dominating these waters. Mostly it is fought with Destroyers vs. Submarines. Both parties are now as advanced as they can be, in those research areas (Submarine IIIs, Destroyer IIs)...

In Latin America, several states are taking part in what is now in every sense of the word a global war. Brazil and Chile have joined the Axis, while Ecuador has become allied with the USA. So far there has been little ground war to report in this area, none frankly, but American planes keep strafing Brazilian airfields, while Brazilian and Chilean naval formations try and intercept supplies, and harass the coastal cities.

In Africa, the mediterranian coast is now completely Italian. Just this last month, the Casablanca fell, to Italian (spanish) forces, and it seems that the Italians can now relax, and make their way towards becoming a regime with some power. If it was not for the Ethiopian war, which is somewhat of a close race, between the British and the Italians, it would be all sunshine. Along the western coast of Africa, several subs keep supplies to a minimum for the forces there, and thus also preventing an invasion coming from the south. A bitter pill was when the Italians had to give up the Azores without a fight, to the Americans. But Mussolini is mostly a happy man these days, with Turkey soon to be an Italian province.

In the Atlantic, fierce convoy battles and naval clashes between the German uboat fleets and the British Surface navy and submarines, as well as the american fleets are keeping the waters unsafe for anyone daring to enter them. Recently Iceland was captured by the British. They however payed a heavy toll, as one of their major fleets, including several battleships was sunk, by enterprising German Uboats. In the air above Britain, it is not very safe either. There are daily sorties flown by the Luftwaffe, which is using their frontline fighters to puncture the British airdefence bubble.